UH's stunning loss to S. Miss. costs shot at BCS bowl

By SAM KHAN JR., Copyright 2011 Houston Chronicle

Updated 10:58 pm, Saturday, December 3, 2011

Photo: Smiley N. Pool, Houston Chronicle

Image 1of/21

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 21

Houston Cougars quarterback Case Keenum hangs his head as he comes off the died after the Southern Mississippi defensive force the Cougars to punt on a drive during the first half of the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Houston.

Houston Cougars quarterback Case Keenum hangs his head as he comes off the died after the Southern Mississippi defensive force the Cougars to punt on a drive during the first half of the C-USA Championship at

Houston Cougars quarterback Case Keenum (7) reacts after being sacked by the Southern Mississippi defense during the first half of the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Houston.

Houston Cougars quarterback Case Keenum (7) reacts after being sacked by the Southern Mississippi defense during the first half of the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in

Southern Mississippi wide receiver Tracy Lampley (1) hauls in a touchdown pass with no Houston Cougars defenders in sight during the first half of the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Houston.

Southern Mississippi wide receiver Tracy Lampley (1) hauls in a touchdown pass with no Houston Cougars defenders in sight during the first half of the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3,

Houston Cougars running back Michael Hayes (29) pushes his way for a first down as Southern Mississippi linebacker Tim Green (43) and wide receiver Markese Triplett (23) make the tackle during the first half of the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Houston.

Houston Cougars running back Michael Hayes (29) pushes his way for a first down as Southern Mississippi linebacker Tim Green (43) and wide receiver Markese Triplett (23) make the tackle during the first half of

Houston Cougars wide receiver Justin Johnson (3) races for a long gain to set up a touchdown against Southern Mississippi during the first half of the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Houston.

Houston Cougars wide receiver Justin Johnson (3) races for a long gain to set up a touchdown against Southern Mississippi during the first half of the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3,

Houston Cougars running back Charles Sims (5) is pushed out of bounds by Southern Mississippi defensive back Emmanuel Johnson (12) during the first half of the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Houston.

Houston Cougars running back Charles Sims (5) is pushed out of bounds by Southern Mississippi defensive back Emmanuel Johnson (12) during the first half of the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday,

Houston Cougars running back Michael Hayes (29) leaps over the Southern Mississippi defense for a touchdown during the first half of the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Houston.

Houston Cougars running back Michael Hayes (29) leaps over the Southern Mississippi defense for a touchdown during the first half of the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in

Southern Mississippi quarterback Austin Davis (12) celebrates with Peter Boehme (39) after throwing a touchdown pass against the Houston Cougars during the first half of the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Houston.

Southern Mississippi quarterback Austin Davis (12) celebrates with Peter Boehme (39) after throwing a touchdown pass against the Houston Cougars during the first half of the C-USA Championship at Robertson

Southern Mississippi wide receiver Ryan Balentine (80) celebrates with William Spight (27) after he scored on a 14-yard touchdown against the Houston Cougars during the first half of the C-USA Championship at Robertson Stadium, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2011, in Houston.

Southern Mississippi wide receiver Ryan Balentine (80) celebrates with William Spight (27) after he scored on a 14-yard touchdown against the Houston Cougars during the first half of the C-USA Championship at

Houston Cougars wide receiver Justin Johnson (3) celebrates with offensive linesman Chris Thompson (70) after scoring on a 9-yard touchdown pass against Southern Mississippi during the first half of the C-USA

Well after the record crowd of 32,413 had emptied Robertson Stadium and many of his teammates had filed out of the locker room, Houston center Chris Thompson's cheering section was still going strong.

As Thompson gathered himself and his emotions to face a group of reporters near an exit gate on the heels of the most painful loss of the senior's football career, the positive cheers from friends and family behind him couldn't take away the sinking feeling inside of dreams gone by.

No Bowl Championship Series. No Conference USA championship. No undefeated season. Just an empty feeling of unfulfilled goals.

"Speechless," said Thompson, a four-year starter. "There really isn't a word that can describe the feeling in that locker room, holding your head down, knowing you just lost the championship game not once, but two times. To have it slip through your fingers a second time is not a good feeling."

On a grand stage with a national television audience, the No. 7 Cougars were ramrodded 49-28 by No. 24 Southern Mississippi, leaving UH without a C-USA championship after appearing in the title game twice in the last three seasons.

Related Stories

"It's very devastating," senior quarterback Case Keenum said. "I've been in this position twice now. It's not very fun."

Big difference in bowls

With unprecedented buildup, a grand stage and a standing-room-only crowd in tow, the moment was there for the Cougars (12-1) to seize. A win would have not only given the Cougars their first C-USA title since 2006 but a berth in a BCS game.

Instead of Sugar Bowl dreams, the Cougars could be headed for the TicketCity Bowl, the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl or the Armed Forces Bowl. Southern Mississippi (11-2) earned its first C-USA title since 2003.

"Nobody gave us a chance," Southern Miss coach Larry Fedora said. "Nobody thought that we could win the game. ... Everyone thought that Houston was going to walk away with this thing. Our guys took objection to that."

The Golden Eagles showed their objection on the field. They jumped out to a 14-0 lead fewer than two minutes into the second quarter. The Cougars, who have had their fair share of slow starts this season, quickly responded to tie the game 14-14 at the 5:47 mark, and though Southern Miss would take a 21-14 halftime lead, the Cougars still felt they were in a comfortable position.

More Information

BY THE NUMBERS

32,413 - Record crowd for Saturday's Conference USA championship game, surpassing the previous record set Nov. 19 against SMU (32,207)

5,099 - Passing yards for UH quarterback Case Keenum this season, becoming the first player in Football Bowl Subdivision history with three 5,000-yard passing seasons. Ronnie Thornton returned an interception 26 yards for a score late in the fourth quarter Saturday.

8 - Number of interceptions returned for touchdowns by Southern Miss this season, breaking the NCAA single-season record seven by Tennessee in 1971.

22:12 - Amount of time it took for the Cougars' first touchdown Saturday, the third-longest this season.

240 - All-purpose yards by Southern Miss running back Tracey Lampley, who was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

486 - Total yards for Southern Miss, second-most in C-USA championship game history.

69 - The 69-yard touchdown pass from Southern Miss quarterback Austin Davis to wide receiver Dominique Sullivan was the longest in C-USA championship game history.

7 - Number of punts by Houston, tying a C-USA championship game record.

7 - Number of touchdowns by Southern Miss, a C-USA championship game record

Things got uncomfortable early in the third when Furious Bradley blocked a Richie Leone punt and returned it 11 yards for a touchdown and a 28-14 lead.

"I thought that was one of the bigger plays in the game," UH coach Kevin Sumlin said. "Being down seven (points) allowed us to do what we do offensively and hang in there, but once they got up 14 and we couldn't run it, we had to throw the ball."

Throw they did, a season-high 67 times. With the running game (31 carries, 55 yards) becoming less of a factor, the Golden Eagles ramped up the pressure on Keenum (41-of-67, 373 yards) who was sacked twice and threw two interceptions. Coming into the game, he had thrown only three all season.

Junior linebacker Phillip Steward helped atone for a Keenum interception in the end zone, picking off Austin Davis (279 passing yards, four touchdowns) and returning it to the USM 4 to set up a Michael Hayes touchdown run to cut the deficit to 28-21 at the 7:05 mark of the third quarter.

Rush attack too much

But the Cougars couldn't stop the Golden Eagles from that point as Southern Miss reeled off 21 unanswered points to take a 49-21 lead.

UH had trouble containing the Golden Eagles' rushing attack (207 yards) as the game wore on, including junior Tracey Lampley, who caught six passes for 125 yards and two scores.After the Cougars turned the ball over on downs with 8:57 left, trailing by three touchdowns, reality began to set in and some fans started hitting the exits as UH's big dreams evaporated.

"To date, that is the worst feeling (I've ever had) on the football field," Thompson said. "I'm not really a losing type of guy. I work and prepare to win every game, me and this team. To lose, it just feels like all the life (was taken) out of me."